Kick Me, Kill Me, Blind Me
by Maturity Is Ovarated
Summary: Losing your sight is a lot like watching a very depressing sunset where all the pretty colors slowly start to fade until everything turns black...except there isn't a sun to bring them back again."
1. The Dark Age

Naruto glared at his now unbandaged hands as if waiting for them to tell him the answer to all his questions. You would too if they looked like globs of flesh not even a foot infront of your face. He sighed, turning so he could look out his hospital window. Well. At least he tried to.

Ever since he started his treatment after failing to bring back Sasuke, his vision had been steadily fading. Not that anyone knew. Whenever the doctors and nurses came to check on him, he never said a word about it. The fox was getting irritated by the loss of sight so he knew it would be pointless to tell some one seeing as an age old demon thought it couldn't be fixed. But now, after 5 days of recovery, 3 of which were spent deteriorating his sight, his once shining blue eyes had finally clouded up. They were such a pale blue that they could be mistaken for white, the pupils only a few shades darker; no longer their original black. Only an idiot wouldn't be able to tell.

Naruto trailed his eyes about the room, trying to soak up everything before he was officially blind. Everything looked like blobs of color just a minute ago; now it was like staring at an ink lot sheet. When he asked, Kyuubi told him that they would have zero vision in another two or three minutes.

Don't get him wrong. The fuzzball was an annoying, sadistic bastard, but he wasn't evil. If anything he was just as if not more nervous about the losing the ability to see as he was. After all, being trapped in a cage in the mind of a human kit and not being able to see on top of it was not fun. The reality of it all finally hit the blonde shinobi.

He would never see again. Ever.

T.T

"E-excuse me?" Tsunade stared wide-eyed at her black haired apprentice, all the blood having fled her normally young looking face. Shizune took a slow breath and closed her eyes.

"I checked up on Naruto today, but his eyes were clouded and he seemed out of it. When I asked, he said that he couldn't see anything. Tsunade-sama, I don't know if it's just temporary or permanent but as of today, genin Uzumaki Naruto is blind."

The villagers were greeted that morning by a very pale hokage speeding toward the hospital. The woman arrived at her "son's" room out of breath and literally threw the door of its hinges.

"Morning, Baa-chan! I guess Shizune-nee-chan told you, huh? Don't worry about it, I'm alright. It just feels kinda weird is all. No problem!"

Her heart dropped. Naruto was more than out of it. He looked as though the slightest breeze would break him and yet the little twerp insisted on keeping that stupid grin on his face to cheer her up like he always did. The worst part was that she knew. The moment she looked into his pale eyes, she knew he wouldn't be able see for a long time. If ever.

It took the combined strength of Shizune and ten other medic-nin to pry her from the death grip she had on the now quiet boy.

T.T

Neji was bored. He was finally awake with most of his wounds healed, but the aggravating doctors refused to discharge him. Another feature of his oh-so-wonderful recovery was that he hadn't left the confines of the hospital room until today and even then he was trapped in a wheel chair. It was ridiculous! Everyday so far he had had to listen to Gai and Lee's youthful speeches. If he did not leave this damned room he'd turn into a basketcase.

So now, here he was. Walking, er, rolling down the hall to his blonde friend's room. As he came to the door, the uneasiness radiating off of the nurses became apparent. What was wrong with these people? It wasn't as though Naruto was dead…was he?

The Hyuuga prodigy let out a sigh of relief when he spotted the blonde facing the window from his bed. Heh. All those bandages made him look like a mummy.

The blonde tilted his head. "Hello?" That's odd. He sounded a bit…lost?

"Good afternoon. I finally convinced these bothersome doctors that I could…_roll_ around the hospital on my own. Anything but staying in that room."

"Heheh. Gai-sensei and Fuzzybrows shouting about your _youthful_ fight, Neji?"

"…Yes." What was going on? He hasn't faced me yet and…"It is not your fault. The Uchiha was a lost cause even if you did bring him back. He was too power hungry for anything to reach him. He would only betray us again. Possibly even kill you for real the next time."

"I know…and thank you for saying that, but it's not the problem." Naruto voice had begun to quiet down and he said each word as though he was unsure of what to say. Neji had to roll up beside him to hear.

"Then what is? This is not like you. You sound…wrong. Avoiding whatever it is will not help anything. Say it."

Naruto frowned, eyes closed as he thought about his meeting with Tsunade. Deciding to be blunt, the blonde fully turned to the uptight Hyuuga, eyes open and a nervous grin on his face. He would've laughed if he could see.

Hyuuga Neji, prodigy and former master of fate, had eyes as wide as dinner plates and a body as straight as a board.

"How long." Naruto scratched his neck, his smile fading.

"Well, Shizune-nee-chan made it official yesterday—"

"No. Not how long you've been like this. How long will it last. It is not permanent is it?" Anyone else who happened to pass by would have heard a cold, curt voice leaving the elder boy's mouth much like his uncle, but Naruto could hear better than that now. Neji was worried about him, frightened even.

"Baa-chan's busy being Hokage and all, but she said a few years of research might find a cure but until then I'm blind for good. Shizune-nee-chan said it was probably caused by the curse seal chakra getting in my eyes."

Naruto flinched. He didn't need to see to know how—for a lack of better words—absolutely pissed off Neji was. When they had first met, the Hyuuga had been a stuck up jackass even worse than the Uchiha. Now, though, he was still a bit stiff backed but the boy had also become protective of his friends. Hinata and Naruto were at the top of his list. Neji closed his eyes.

"Naruto, if you still wish to chase after the traitor, make sure that I do not find him first."


	2. Listen Up

Tsunade downed another glass of sake as she sat behind her desk. It had been nearly a week since Naruto had lost his sight and she still couldn't figure out a way to keep the boy from being taken off the shinobi roster. She growled, taking another swig.

"Am I interrupting you, Tsunade-sama?" The Kage glanced up at the newcomer. He wore his black hitai-ate around his neck, barely visible behind the green chunnin vest covering his short sleeved fishnet shirt. The tan skin, wild brown hair, and red fangs on his cheeks, not to mention the large wolf by his side, all told the blonde Hokage that the man was an Inuzuka. She set down her sake bottle.

"No, not at all. What is it you wish to speak with me about?"

"Actually, I believe his name was Naruto. My nephew informed me that he was blind now, yes?"

"…Yes. What of it?"

The Inuzuka shrugged, stuffing his gloved hands into his pant pockets.

"I think I can help."

T.T

It was early, even a blind person could tell. Naruto leaned against the cool glass of the hospital window and listened to the crickets' morning orchestra. It used to be something he had to strain his ears to hear, but now their songs were loud and clear without any effort. He figured losing his sight must've amplified his other senses but it wasn't always a good thing. When everyone had come to visit him, he could feel their worry and strain in everything that they did. Shizune-nee, Baa-chan, Neji, Iruka-sensei and everyone. They were so quiet. It was as though he had died and they were in mourning. He wasn't dead—he was right here! Sure, blind people weren't exactly common among shinobi but that stop him! He would be Hokage one day and protect the village. He never went back on his word….almost never…

Tap-tap. "May I come in?" a voice asked. It was sort of dazed like Shikamaru but it also had a rough edge to it. Soft but confident. An odd sound.

"Oh. Yeah, sure." Naruto turned to where he remembered the door to be. It breezed open and familiar footsteps made their way to his bed. A shinobi's footsteps.

"My name's Inuzuka Kegawa. You're Naruto, right?"

"Yeah…You're from Kiba's family?"

Naruto remembered when Team 8 came by. He could hear the constant shuffling of clothes he guessed was Hinata twiddling her fingers again, but more slowly than usual. Beside her was a low buzzing that could only have been Shino. Kiba was the worst. His foot kept tapping the ground infront of him and after words Naruto could hear the boy's jacket shuffling then a slight breeze by his face. After a few minutes of this, it was starting to confuse me until Shino finally spoke up.

"Stop being a child, Kiba. He won't react."

"Yep. I'm his uncle. Chunnin…So how are you?" Kegawa's voice lost some of its confidence.

"Peachy." There was an awkward silence as the two tried to come up with something to say. Naruto groaned, shaking his head. "Look, if you're going to come here at least have something to say. I've had enough of the quiet."

He felt the warm air hit him as the man sighed. "Sorry. This is a bit weird for me." A quick shuffle of clothes. Shrugging? "Even if I am the one who requested it."

"…Huh?"

"Right." A patting…no dusting off his pants? "As of this morning you will be living at the Inuzuka compound where I'll be supervising your training so you can fight without your eyes and start going on missions again. If you don't mind, that is."

"I'm fine with it! But…a-am I allowed by the rest of the clan? I mean…" Naruto hesitantly touched his stomach and lowered his head. There was a low chuckling.

"Relax, Naruto. Our clan isn't lacking common sense like most of the village. We're not bothered by it."

The blonde relaxed, closing his unmoving orbs in thought. Kegawa watched the boy nod to himself before facing him again with his ghostly blue eyes and wicked grin.

"Fuzzy, Usagi, or Furball? Take your pick." The Inuzuka blinked.

"Pardon?"

"The sadistic fox. You wanna call him fuzzy, Usagi, or Furball?"

"Buh-BWAHAHAHAHA!! Y-you call the strongest demon in existence Fuzzy??"

"Yeah! But his full name's Fuzzy Wuzzy." Naruto happily listened to the disbelieving laughter of the Inuzuka as he felt a weight near his feet as the man attempted to steady himself.

"Hoo! Heheh. So why Fuzzy Wuzzy? I was a kid when he attacked, but I'm pretty sure he wasn't all that fuzzy."

"Well it's not like I'm gonna call him Kyuubi-sama or Your Highness and since he's in a cage he can't hurt me for calling him Fuzzy." Kegawa listened to the boy amble on about how stuck up and annoying the "fuzzball" was when they spoke. It amazed him to no end how nonchalant the boy was about his tenant with someone he had just met. Was it because he didn't see the boy as the demon?

After it looked as though the boy would stop breathing from all his chatter, Kegawa put a hand on his shoulder, getting his attention.

"I had planned on taking you to the compound before the streets got too crowded. Are you ready now or…?"

"I can go now. How far is it?"

"Not too far. However, I'd like to get a had start on your training." Nodding excitedly, Naruto hopped off the bed making his way to the door…and walking face first into the wall. Kegawa blinked as the boy rubbed his face, mumbling curses to the wall. "Yeah. I'd really like to get started on your training." Pulling the boy up, the chunnin opened the door and began strolling down the hall. Stopping, he turned back to where the blonde had stumbled from his room with his arms spread wide to shield himself. "Over this way, Naruto. I want to you to try to follow me to the compound with your ears. It'll be easier with fewer people on the streets. Come on now."

Naruto moved toward where he heard the voice of his new sensei, his arms a little lower but still left in front of him. He didn't want to run into another wall like an idiot. It hurt.

After stopping and starting and turning he noticed a shift in how Kegawa's feet impacted the tile floor. They were louder now and sounded further away yet they kept the same pace. But why—

"Stairs?"

"Yep. Try shuffling to the edge of the first step before fully getting your footing. Hold the railing."

Naruto followed the directions, quickly grabbing hold of the metal rail as he slowly made his way down and counted the steps. 18, 19, 20, 2— "OOF!" Apparently there weren't 21 steps.

"ARU!" A heavy weight landed on his chest from his spot on the ground and began licking his face. Eeeeew. Tongue.

"Shiromaru, off." There was a disappointed whine, but the weight quickly left and Naruto was once again pulled to his feet. "Sorry about that. My familiar here has a…soft spot for kids."

Noticing a tug on his shirt, Naruto moved his hand around until he felt something soft and began to pet it. The canine was maybe up to his elbow in height. Naruto bit his lip.

"Hey, Gawa? What's he look like?" It was quiet for a moment then something—hair?— was being scratched.

"Well…He's a wolf hybrid. All of his fur is a snow white color, thus his name, except for his paws which are black. It also looks like he's constantly grinning unlike my sister's." Naruto smiled.

"Yuki-chan would've loved him."

"Yuki?"

"Yeah. She's the princess of Blizzard Country my team got to guard a while back. She was really pretty." Kegawa sighed. He would have to make sure not to bring team memories around the kid.

"C'mon, let's keep moving."

The genin began to follow the chunnin once more, listening to the uneven steps of the wolf to his right. A change in temperature alerted him that they were outside as the footsteps changed from solid and echoing to rough and short. Another few steps and the sound of Kegawa's feet changed again; he had stepped onto the road. His concentration wavered. He never had to use his hearing at this level for this long before and it was making him dizzy.

Shk. Sskkt. "GAH!" Thump.

"*whiiiine*"

"You alright?"

"…I tripped…on a pebble…?" I'm so glad I can't see myself right now. I'd die of embarrassment.

T.T

An ANBU paused in her morning rounds. Her red and green painted cat masked face watched a subordinate who had also stopped. Making a hand seal to call the rest of her squad, she shunshinned to the man's side with her other team members.

"Crow, what are you doing?" The sandy haired ANBU glanced at his captain before nodding to the street below.

"Oh."

Walking with his hands in front of him, shoulders stiff, and legs lifting up in an odd gait was Uzumaki Naruto, the genin who lost his sight trying to retrieve the traitor Uchiha. Beside the boy was a large white Inuzuka familiar whose partner kept a pace a few meters ahead. The clan must've agreed to retrain the boy. Watching the three make their way to the compound gates, the boy tripping a few times and nearly walking headlong into a pole, the ANBU captain sighed and ordered for her squad to continue their rounds. They had a village to look after to make sure its people didn't have to suffer. She snuck another look at the blonde. No one should suffer like that.


End file.
